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The civilian head of the U.S. Army said Thursday soldiers are unconcerned about serving alongside transgender people despite President Trump stoking fear about cohesion in his attempt to ban them from the armed forces, according to ABC News.

Army Secretary Mark Esper said transgender military service “really hasn’t come up” as he’s traveled to U.S. bases at home and abroad when reporters asked if soldiers expressed concerns about transgender service.

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After spending nearly seven years in prison for leaking classified information, the Army has released Chelsea Manning as a result of clemency granted by former President Obama.

Manning in a statement acknowledged she had an early release from prison as a result of former President Obama granting her clemency as one of his final acts in office, which considerably reduced her initial 35-year sentence.

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PARIS (AP) – Within weeks of the Pentagon allowing transgender service members to serve openly, Army officials said 10 soldiers have formally asked to be recognized as their new, preferred gender.

The small number represents only those who have publicly said they are transgender, and doesn’t include soldiers who may be considering or beginning gender transition or those who don’t yet want to make an official paperwork change.

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Like many transgender teens, Jenn Brewer faced bullying when she came out. Some classmates called her “tranny,” and a few teachers refused to address the 13-year-old by anything other than her male birth name, she said.

But she and her family found that the biggest difficulty came from her father’s employer: the U.S. military.

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LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) – A transgender soldier imprisoned in Kansas for leaking classified information to the WikiLeaks website will end a hunger strike after the Army agreed to allow her to receive medical treatment for her gender dysphoria, the American Civil Liberties Union announced Tuesday.

Chelsea Manning’s medical treatment will begin with surgery that was recommended by her psychologist in April, the ACLU said. Manning began the hunger strike at Fort Leavenworth military prison on Friday, vowing to continue until she received better treatment.

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Leavenworth, Kan. (AP) – Chelsea Manning has tweeted that she’s OK following her hospitalization for a suicide attempt last week.

The 28-year-old transgender soldier imprisoned for sending classified information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks also posted on her Twitter account July 11 night, “I’m glad to be alive.” Manning doesn’t have internet access behind bars at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, but wrote last year that she dictates her tweets to someone who puts them online.

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Washington (AP) – The Senate confirmed the long-stalled nomination of Eric Fanning to be Army secretary, making him the first openly gay leader of a U.S. military service.

The voice vote approval on May 17 came after Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., dropped his opposition to Fanning after a senior Pentagon official told him that no detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would be sent to the Army prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, or other facilities in the United States.

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BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — In macho Serbia, he came across as macho as they come: an army major in a military culture that glorifies masculine strength. He was a perfect husband and father in a society that preaches family values. But for nearly his entire life, the major felt he was living a lie: Deep down, he was a woman.

Last year, he came out, telling his family and superiors that he was Helena — and starting therapy to become a woman. She did not remain Serbia’s first transgender major for long: The army asked for her resignation, saying she “posed a threat to the reputation of the army.” In April, Helena scored an important victory: A Serbian human rights body ruled that the army had discriminated against her by saying she was a potential stain on its honor.

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UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio (AP) — Like thousands of other young men in the 1940s, Rupert Starr joined the Army, fought overseas and saw his share of hardship, including several weeks as a German prisoner of war. He returned to Ohio with a Bronze Star for heroism and a secret.

Not until his service as a military man was needed once again — this time as an activist against the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy — did Starr, who is gay, slowly step out of the closet.

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Watermark Media was founded by Tom Dyer in Orlando in 1994, and expanded to Tampa Bay in 1995. Dyer is an attorney, former board member of the Metropolitan Business Association and Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, and current advisory board member of the Harvey Milk Foundation.

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